Many packaging applications use resealable containers to store various types of articles and materials. These packages may be used to store and ship food products, non-food consumer goods, medical supplies, waste materials, and various other types of articles. Resealable packages are convenient in that they can be closed and resealed after the initial opening to preserve the enclosed contents. The need to locate a storage container for the unused portion of the product in the package is thus avoided. As such, providing products in a resealable package appreciably enhances the marketability of these products.
Some types of resealable packages are opened and closed using a slider device. The slider device typically includes a separator or plow-type structure at one end that opens a zipper closure mechanism having profiled elements or closure profiles when the slider device travels in a first direction along the zipper closure. The sidewalls of the slider device are inwardly tapered from one end to the opposite end so that the sidewalls engage the closure profiles and progressively move them into engagement to close the resealable package when the slider device is moved along the zipper closure in a direction opposite to the first direction.
Resealable packages including a slider device to more easily open and close the profiles often include a notch formed in the closure profiles near one end of the zipper closure mechanism. The notch formed in the profile provides a “home” position for the slider when the package is in a completely closed position. The notch formed in the profile typically receives the plow formed in the slider such that the profile can be closed on each side of the plow to create a continuous seal across the entire package.
Although a notch formed in the mating profiles on the closed end of the resealable package is known, problems can occur during opening of the package. For example, if the profile elements and the slider device are twisted relative to each other before opening, the plow can be displaced from between the profiles such that the plow is ineffective in opening the zipper closure mechanism as the plow is drawn along the length of the zipper. This type of situation obviously renders the plow ineffective and reduces consumer confidence in the reliability of a zipper closure including a slider device.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved zipper closure mechanism that has a receiving notch that prevents the plow of the slider device from becoming displaced during opening of the closure mechanism.